Blind rapper, woman arrested after victim robbed of car

EVERETT -- A blind rapper who has begun to make a name for himself in the Pacific Northwest was arrested in Marysville on Wednesday night for investigation of assault, robbery and auto theft.To his fans, he's known as Mac Wayne.To police and prosecutors, he is Wayne A. Frisby.The Everett man made a brief appearance Thursday in Everett District Court. He appeared to be visually impaired as he walked slowly up to a table to sit beside a court-appointed attorney. Bail was set at $150,000.Police arrested Frisby, 30, and Briauna Tanouye, 25. They believe the Arlington woman tricked an acquaintance into leaving her car in a parking lot before stealing her keys at knifepoint in the 7300 block of 46th Place NE.Initial police reports said "a blind male named Wayne" took the woman's car keys.The victim told police she received a phone call from Tanouye who said she would give her gas money if she would drive her where she needed to go. The two drove separate cars to a meeting place and the victim allegedly got into Tanouye's car, court papers said.They then drove to another location. When the car stopped, the passenger door flung open and someone grabbed the victim by the hair and cut a large hank off with a knife, court papers said.The attacker demanded the victim's car keys and threatened to stab her if she didn't hand them over, court papers said.The victim told police that Tanouye drove off with Frisby as a passenger.Police drove the victim back to where she parked her car. It was missing.Officers did find hair on the pavement where the woman said the assault happened. She also was bleeding from her knuckles and wrist. She said she sustained the cuts when the attacker cut her hair. On promotional websites, Mac Wayne is described as "the undisputed Ray Charles of rap, 100% blind and 100% raw."It was unclear to police and prosecutors the extent of the suspect's visual impairment."There is some blindness, but to what level I do not know," Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.According to another promotional website, the rapper said "a gunshot to the head took his sight and in the same instant gave him the ability to see whole songs in his mind."Frisby is known to local police agencies. He was arrested in January for investigation of illegally possessing a firearm.In 2007, he was convicted of possessing heroin. In that case, police said he was caught in a car smoking marijuana."The defendant was asked for his ID and as he rolled down the window a large amount of smoke that smelled like marijuana came billowing out of the car," court papers said.A search of the car turned up a baggy containing heroin.Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

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